Charges filed in UIC parking garage slaying

An Austin neighborhood man has been charged with fatally shooting his 48-year-old estranged wife in a University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center parking garage late Thursday night.

Earl Roberts, 47, of the 5000 block of West Adams Street, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, UIC spokesman Mark Rosati said. Roberts, who'd been employed by the hospital as a housekeeper for 15 years and who was the victim's estranged husband, is expected to appear in bond court tomorrow.

The victim was identified as 48-year-old Angela Bonds, of the 3400 block of S. Harlem Avenue in Riverside, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. Bonds was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:40 a.m. Friday, according to the spokesman.

An autopsy performed Saturday determined Bonds died of multiple gunshot wounds and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner's office.

Roberts was arrested about 6:30 a.m. Friday at 13th Street and Hoyne Avenue, about a half-mile from the shooting scene. Police also recovered a weapon, said Rosati.

Rosati said a UIC police officer made a traffic stop at 14th Street and South Damen Avenue and recognized the driver as the man police were seeking. The man fled on foot and the officer gave chase, catching him at the address of arrest.

After the shooting in the garage at 1801 W. Taylor St. about 11:45 p.m. Thursday, the hospital complex was put under lockdown as police SWAT team members combed the area. The lockdown was lifted about 5 a.m. after that search came up empty, police and hospital officials said.

There was no indication that the suspect ever entered the hospital after the shooting, Rosati said, adding that police had conducted a "very thorough, room-by-room, top-to-bottom, roof-to-basement search," going through the complex multiple times.

A source said that Roberts injured -- but didn't shoot -- a second victim who didn't require medical attention. It was not known who that person was, how they were injured or precisely where that attack took place.

According to court records, Roberts has a minor criminal record, pleading guilty to reckless conduct and weapons charges in 2008 and to possession of cannabis, speeding and DUI in July 2010. He was fined $275 and put on court supervision for a year on the former and was sentenced to a year of supervision and community service on the latter.

In addition, an order of protection was filed against him in 1992, but details of that case weren't available.

While police identified Roberts as the victim's ex-boyfriend, Bonds' family members said the pair had been separated for years and were in the process of getting a divorce. They also said Bonds was engaged to another person.

UIC sent out a text message to students before 1 a.m. Friday alerting students and staff about the shooting.